


Oblivious or Blind? I can't decide

by celizamur



Series: A Keen Sense of the Oblivious [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Drama, Escape, F/M, Fluff, Protective Mac, Romance, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-18 00:23:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18975226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celizamur/pseuds/celizamur
Summary: Desi seems to be the only one that can see Mac and Riley are in love with each other.She realizes it’s more frustrating to see two people dance around each other than it is lose the bad guy.But maybe being in a confined space for twenty four hours will do the trick?....Riley, Mac and Desi are trapped in an old storage unit, and no matter how cold it is; Desi realises it's more painful to watch people pine for each other.





	Oblivious or Blind? I can't decide

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm thinking of starting a series of one shots where Desi is observing Mac and Riley, believing they are completely in love with each other.
> 
> I'm not a huge fan of Desi as a character, so I'm thinking maybe if I write as her - I'll like her more? 
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think by leaving a comment and a kudos!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

1\. Noticing

* * *

 

 

Desi has always like working alone. Sure, she’s been in teams before, however she enjoyed keeping her distance.

Working together but everyone remained an individual. Understanding the important of trust within a team was vital, learning everyone’s ticks, their habits, their strengths and weaknesses.  But that was during work hours. When the job was done, everyone goes their own way.

When Matty first told her about each member of her new team, explaining their skills and personality, Desi knew from the way her boss spoke about each person that she was quite invested in their personal lives.

Desi listen to each of their skills profile, Leanne coming first in every training for the Phoenix that was required, Bozer’s talent’s in robotics, Riley’s extensive hacking skills and Mac’s incredible brain.

She also knew a few facts about concerning their personal life before meeting them. Bozer and Leanne were in a relationship, Riley was previously in prison for some time and Mac’s father was the head of Phoenix.

That was all Desi knew. That’s all she wanted to know. And that’s how she planned to keep it.

 

Oh, how wrong she was.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“How about pizza? You can’t turn down pizza,”

“I’m fine,”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for drink?”

“Yes,”

“Is that you agreeing to another drink?”

“No,”

“So that’s you agreeing to stay a bit longer?”

“This is me preparing to punch you _,_ ” Desi deadpanned to Bozer who couldn’t seem to grasp the idea of her not staying for the ‘after the mission hangout’ thing. She’s been Mac’s bodyguard for a couple of months now. In the beginning, she was sure she would hate it, but the work was beginning to grow on her. But she still refused to be friends outside of office hours.

But for some reason, everyone else on the team just couldn’t grasp this concept.

“So, what? You’re going to drop this file Matty told you to us, and then just _run away?_ ” Bozer exaggerated, his arms flung out in a dramatic gesture, which almost made Desi smile.

Almost.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Desi took a step through the front door, and Bozer rushed out of the way, believing she was going to follow through with her threat.

“Fine but you’re missing out,” Bozer called as he made his way back outside to sit next to Leanne.

Desi simply rolled her eyes and stormed through the hallway, clutching the brown envelope in her hand to hand to Mac.

Matty had declared the situation urgent and confidential. Two words that kicked Desi into action.

A certain sound caused Desi speed to falter, and slow her steps. Glass smashing to the floor. Desi reached for the gun in her holster, pressing herself against the corridor wall and crouching low.

An unusual sound was quick to follow. A laugh.

Peeping around the corner, Desi peered into the kitchen to see what was happening.  

Riley had her hand over her mouth, obviously trying to contain a smile, her eyes brimming with joy as she stared up at Mac. Mac’s mouth was agape, glaring in shock at the shards of glass now scattered across the tiled kitchen floor. In one hand he held a lighter, and the other was a piece of paper.

Desi deduced one of his science experiments had just gone wrong.

“That was some trick,” Riley sarcastically whispered, dropping her hand to her side and trying to appear completely serious. She had changed into her comfiest clothes, with her hair pulled in a bun and placed messily on top of her head; clearly completely comfortable in Mac’s home.

Mac on the other hand continued to stare in shock at the broken bits of an empty Nutella glass. “That’s never happened before. It always works,” Mac muttered, still surprised with whatever mistake he had just made.

“I loved the bit when the paper caught fire,”

“The frozen paper is supposed to melt slowly-,”

“-And I liked it when you shouted, ‘ _Oh No_ ,”

“The alloy in the glass is supposed to cause the flame to turn green-,”

“-And I really loved when the glass exploded. Loved that bit,” Riley said with a grin, clearly enjoying every bit of Mac’s mistakes. Even Desi knows, it doesn’t happen very often. Or ever.

Mac closed his open mouth and furrowed his eyebrows, his face closed off to concentration as his mind recalled every movement he made. Riley let out a small sigh, seeing Mac’s shocked expression growing into a concerned outlook, withdrew the fun out of the situation.

“Well that was way more impressive than any green flame,” Riley grinned, lightly punching Mac in the arm as if to knock him out of the math equations he was currently lost in. She waited patiently for the expression Bozer calls ‘Lightbulb moment.’

“Did I wet my hands before holding the paper?” Mac asked her, a crinkle between his brows forming.

Smiling, she shook her head, watching as a grin began to form on Mac’s face as a realization dawned. Both bending down to carefully pick up the broken glass, Riley listened in amazement as Mac began to explain _where_ he went wrong and the science behind the glass exploding.

Desi listen for a moment longer before turning around and strolling away, neither of them noticing her steps of retreat.

Mac may be explaining where he went wrong, but Desi was much more interested in _why,_ as she realized; she had a couple of experiments to figure out as well.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Did you check the ceiling?” Bozer yelled through the heavy metal door, before quickly pressing his ear against the freezing steel, awaiting the muffled response from his friends.

Desi rolled her eyes for what felt like the one hundredth time that day, “yes Bozer, we checked. No trap door, no vent, no nothing. We’re stuck,” she clarified.

And what a place to be trapped. A frozen storage container.

It felt like an oversized coffin, stripped bare bar empty steel shelves, an empty flask and lumps ice plastered against the walls and in lumps all over the floor.

Desi sat against the door and watched as Mac continued to look at every inch of the freezer, while Riley held a little electrical device in the air to see if she could get a signal.

The four of them were sent on a mission to track a terrorist group selling guns by the hundreds. Coming across the abandoned building was a fluke, Bozer stayed in the van to be surveillance while the other three entered to have a closer look.

It turned out they were right, but the terrorist group was much larger than expected. Bullets rained and destruction followed, having to result in snap decisions. Which is how they ended up in an empty, frozen food storage unit. A freezer. Which was becoming increasingly cold by the second.

Bozer arrived thirty minutes later, letting them know the gun makers had disappeared for a while, but they had to get out of the freezer before the terrorist came back. Backup was called, but unfortunately, there was a couple of things wrong with that plan.

  1. The steel door wouldn’t open. Meaning they were currently trapped in a freezer.
  2. They were in Argentina, backup wouldn’t be coming for at least forty-eight hours, and that’s with Matty’s negotiation skills. Meaning they were going to be trapped in this metal frozen death cage for the foreseeable future.



Mac was mumbling numbers, stepping in slow circles and pressing his hands against the wall at certain intervals. Desi couldn’t tell you what he was trying to achieve, but she hoped it was some sort of escape plan.

Suddenly Riley yelled, “finally. Got it!” The device pinged softly and intermittently as she held it up as high as it would go. “I have a small signal, so I’ll be able to hack into the security cameras took keep an eye when our gun happy _friends_ return,” she smirked, awkwardly balancing her laptop in one hand and the internet connector in the other.

Desi knew Riley wasn’t a particular tall woman, but as she stood on her tippy toes, Desi couldn’t help but laugh. “Mac, you might want to make Riley a ladder there,” Desi laughed, as Riley rolled her eyes and smiled; taking all of Desi’s comments as a joke.

Mac also joined in with a smile, walking towards Riley and taking the small device from her hand, “I can attach this to the wall?” he offered, examining it in his hands before grabbing his bag and pulling out duct tape.

“Woah, so high tech,” Riley sarcastically said, as Mac pulled a strip and bit of a piece with his teeth.

“My best invention yet,” Mac winked, reaching high on the wall and sticking the device down.

Desi listen to them mutter about signal and electrical waves, but all she could hear was; body language. Mac’s eyes would never leave Riley when she spoke, he would often send her a look of pride when she had said something particularly intelligent. His feet would always point her direction and they were always comfortable invading each other’s personal space. Ever since that exploding glass incident in the kitchen, Desi has started to take notes; and certain things were beginning to line up. What’s not adding up, is everyone seems to be complete oblivious to what’s happening in front of their eyes.

Both crowding over Riley’s laptop in her arms which meant Mac had to bend slightly to compensate for the height difference.

Then, Riley shivered.

And of course, this seem to alarm Mac more than any amount of thugs with guns.

Quickly, Mac tore off his leather jacket it and dropped it on Riley’s shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Mac, I’m fine,” Riley muttered humorously, as if Mac’s concern was over dramatic.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Mac looked at her as if she had grown a second head, “Riles, you’re only wearing a t-shirt. Take the jacket,” he concluded, sounding as stubborn as Desi has ever heard him. Even though, this left Mac in a thin cotton jumper, but pretended the fresh cold air didn’t bother him in the slightest.  

Desi could barely watch the stare they shared, deciding to knock on the door behind her, “how’s it going Bozer?”

There was an uncertain hum from the other side of the door, as if he couldn’t deicide what exactly he wanted to say.

“Well, I’ve tried the chain saw, and the hammer. I found a sword?” he yelled back, and Desi felt the disheartened energy build inside. _God, it’s cold._

“I’ll get on that,” Mac spoke confidently, as Desi hadn’t realized her thoughts had been spoken out loud.

So, they waited another hour. And they felt every second.

Cold creeped along Desi’s skin, sticking to her eyelashes and gripping beneath her nails.

Desi paced in front of the door, yelling at Bozer for constant updates on what machine he had used, to break the door down next. While Riley stayed on her laptop at the other end of the room, occasionally muttering as she corresponded with Matty and tried to find out the construction plans for the building. She was still swamped in Mac’s brown leather jacket, the bottom’s brushing the tops of her thighs and having to roll up the sleeves so she could type. Desi caught Mac multiples of times with his gaze trained on Riley, as if he was in some sort of daze. Desi simply clicked her fingers and pointed at the materials he had laid out in the center of the room, focusing him on the task at hand.

There was no time for _stares_ today.

Mac scrambled around the small space, his movements stiff from the cold. Picking up random item, scraping, cutting, and breaking bit of old steel shelves and whatever they had brought with them, Mac used it. Until he ended up with a small assembly of what looked like an awkward oil lamp.

With his hand held out towards Desi, he waited without a word said until she realized what he required. Taking the lighter out of her pocket with a sigh, she handed it to him. _She really need to give up that habit._

Mac lit the center of the device and it began to churn slowly before Desi felt it. A small trickle of heat.

“So, it’s not going to be warm, or comfortable, but it won’t be freezing,” Mac said with a smile, positivity radiating from his entire form. 

“Good job Genius,” Desi told him, her stiff limbs bringing her closer to the heat source. Holding out her hands and feeling the heat smooth the bitter feeling of frozen fingers.

Riley cursing in the corner alerted Desi’s attention, “I keep losing connection,” Riley informed them.

Desi shrugged, “So?”

“Well if I lose connection, then I can’t see the security cameras, I won’t know when the gun people are back and then I won’t be able to let Bozer know when he’s in danger,” she told them in a serious tone, watching as Mac began to think of a plan in his mind.

A loud bang against the steel door echoed suddenly throughout the small room. “Actually I think we might be in more danger,” Riley concluded, as they listened to Bozer shout, “I’m okay, it was just the dynamite I found. Didn’t work.”

Mac walked towards the signal device high on the wall as it flashed, indicating a healthy connection.  “Okay so we might have to build that ladder after all,” he informed Riley, who’s hands had turned a slight tinge of blue from the cold.

“Need any help?” she asked him, as she jigged slightly on the spot to let the blood flow through her veins again.

“Nah, you may as well wait by the heater,” Mac whispered, squeezing her arm as he passed her to grab another steel pipe. Sending him a small smile of thanks, Riley dropped down beside Desi to warm up.

They watched as Mac moved around the room, humming and talking to himself as he thought aloud. And once again, Mac had somehow managed to build a structure that any normal person would find impossible to even think of.

Normal. Desi knew Mac was anything but normal, but he managed to surprise her everyday she worked with him. Desi also found herself shocked by Riley’s talents as well. Always humble, she would provide vital information which would always prove crucial to the case. Mac talked her ear off one day talking about it.

_“Do you know she’ll never accept any credit?” Mac told Desi as they drove away from the Phoenix to pick up a potential suspect in Matty’s robbery case. Desi nodded, sending him a nonchalant hum to let him know she was agreeing, but her eyes remained steadily on the road ahead._

_“Riley will always agree when Matty talks about how I provided an escape plan or how Bozer fought off attackers-”_

_“-Bozer fighting off attackers? That’ll be the day,” Desi interrupted with a side comment, but Mac plowed on, barely noticing her input._

_“-and once Matty mentions Riley’s work, she shakes her head or tries to change the subject, it’s crazy! She’s so smart, so intelligent but she just… doesn’t see it you know?” Mac looked out the window, lost in thought. Desi agreed, but she didn’t really think about it._

_“Yeah, she’s a smart girl. Good hearted too,” Desi told him, watched the streets as one man looked a little similar to the photo Matty showed them._

_“Yeah, she has a great heart,” Mac mumbled, also scanning the streets for the criminal._

_“It’ll get her killed,” Desi muttered, her eyes zoning in one guy with a blue baseball hat and questionable socks and sandals combo._

_“What?” Mac inquired, his tone deep as he stared at Desi, wide eyed and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on._

_It jump-started Desi’s train of thought, snapping her back to the reality of the situation, “sorry, that came out… way harsher than I thought it would,” Desi told him, almost consoling him as he continued to stare at her._

_“But, what do you mean, how will it get her killed?” Mac demanded, his words rushing out of his mouth._

_“No I didn’t mean it-”_

_“-just tell me what you meant,”_

_“It meant nothing,”_

_“Must’ve meant something if you said it,” Mac exclaimed, throwing his hands forward._

_“Fine! Kindness is a killer. It’s something one of my military buddies once said. Too much heart, causes mistakes, and mistakes get you killed,” Desi told him angrily, annoyed she had to explain it but also annoyed at herself. She didn’t want to talk about Riley getting hurt, but sometimes reality… hits hard. “But, you said it yourself, Riley’s smart. She’s no damsel in distress.”_

_Mac didn’t talk for a few minutes. They sat in silence and continued to scan the street._

_“That’s him,” Mac exclaimed, and suddenly they were back in work mode. Collecting the suspect, bringing him back for questioning and paper work. Lots of paperwork._

_And just like that, Desi had forgotten the conversation. Until Mac met her leaving the building._

_“I’m not going to let that happen,” Mac told her, as they walked towards the door that lead to the carpark. Desi stared at him confused for a moment, wondering if he was talking about her car or the mission. She stared at him, patiently waiting for him to explain._

_“Her good heart? I won’t let it be used to hurt her,” Mac promised, every muscle in his body so tense, Desi wondered if she’d ever seen him this serious._

_Taking a deep breath, “that’s my job. You’re the brains here and I’m the brawn,” Desi joked, hoping to ease his worry, her words earlier seemingly cutting deep._

_“You were hired to protect me. But who’s protecting her and Bozer?” Mac inquired, obviously thinking about this for too long._

_“You guys are my team. And from what I’ve learned, we all protect each other,” Desi told him, watching him relax slightly._

_“Just promise me… if we’re ever in a situation-” Mac began, but Desi shook her head._

_“-Mac don’t give me that. Situations happen, and we only know what to do when we’re in them,” she warned, knowing this conversation wouldn’t end well. Because if everyone is at risk; Desi has to protect Mac, whether he likes it or not. He’ll just have to learn that the hard way._

Desi thought back to that conversation. The more missions they do altogether, she finds it harder to prioritize Mac. 

“Try this,” Mac calls over to Riley.

The structure wasn’t that high, only about to Riley’s shoulder, but it had a step for her to get up on and allowed her to sit down and get a better signal for her laptop.

“It’s perfect. You never cease to amaze me Mac,” she told him with a smile, settle her computer on her lap and warming her hands by rubbing them together.

Chuffed with himself, Mac walked back over to Desi and sat down, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the expression on his face. The man looked like he just won the lotto.

“Got a message from Matty about half an hour ago, we’d have people coming to get us in five hours,” Riley informed them.

“So… four and a half hours left in this cold, cold prison?” Desi concluded, the warm air slowly dying from Mac’s man made heater. “How likely am I to get frost bite?” she asked Mac who was trying to alter the little device with his Swiss Army knife.

Mac continued to tinker with the instrument before replying, “how’s your circulation?”

“I don’t know Mac let me check my medical file,” she drolled, while Mac just sent her an exasperated smile and continued working.

It was getting colder and colder by the second, Mac’s device had seemed to dye slowly, allowing the freezing temperature to rise. A concerned look crossed Mac’s face as he looked over at Desi who’s eyes were slipping shut against her own wishes and Riley who had essential drowned in Mac’s jacket but couldn’t stop shivering.

“Hey Riles, can you use the security cameras to scan the building for the following items?” Mac asked her, moving closer and hopping up on the tall table he had built for her to sit on top of, and began to name of various items.

Desi watched them out of the corner of her eye.

Riley had squashed herself against Mac, welcoming the extra heat. Mac certainly didn’t mind their proximity.

_Was she thinking too much into this? Were the just friends?_

Since they were getting all warm and cozy in the corner, Desi took Mac’s heater and hugged in close.

_She really hoped he built to so she could do this._

Riley bent the screen slightly, allowing them both to scan through the footage in search of whatever Mac was trying to come up with. Having found everything he needed, Mac ran towards the door and began to shout instructions for Bozer.

It took about an hour, but eventually Bozer assembled Mac’s invention.

There was silence for a few minutes before Riley piped up, “Bozer made the Blow torch,” as she watched him on the security cameras, before a light glow began to shine brightly in one corner of the door.

“Will that work?” Desi asked Mac who was already working out the calculations in his head.

“Well, just as long as Bozer gets out of the way, the door might need to be pushed outwards, because-”

“-if it’s pushed inwards, it will crush us,” Riley finished for him, as she squinted at the screen and quickly ran her fingers across the keyboard.

“So, we just need to be ready to push,” Desi concluded, rubbing her arms up and down to get rid of the cold. Mac nodded, his eyes trained on the red flame that was trailing at an extremely slow pace along the edge of the door.

“Actually…,” Mac muttered before running over to the door, “Boze you don’t need to map out the entire door, just a hole big enough for us to climb through.”

The torch stopped for a moment, while Bozer yelled a muffled agreement and continued to draw an escape door.

Finally, things were starting to look up. Desi could practically feel the heat from the outside getting in.  

Until once again… life hits with reality.

“Gun guys are back,” Riley warned, locking eyes with Mac who was already shouting instructions at Bozer.

“Close?” Desi asked her, marching over to Riley’s computer to have a look for herself.

“First floor, north entrance. From what I can tell they haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary yet,” Riley informed her, zooming in to each small screen to start counting the people. And the many, many guns.

“Okay Boze, speed it up,” Mac yelled, watching at the red glow moved to curve downwards to complete a medium size circle.

“They’ll hear the bang of the steel against the ground,” Riley warned, and Desi couldn’t tell if it was the cold or the fear that caused the slight shake in her voice.

“So, we’ll be fast,” Desi said confidently, marching towards Mac to give Bozer some _helpful_ tips, “hurry along Bozer, or the guns won’t be the biggest problem.”

Mac gave her a dead stare, “great advice.”

Desi shrugged, watched as the bright torch was nearing it’s starting point.

_Nearly there,_ her mind prepared herself.

Until… well life hits again. And it’s a wonderful reality.

A crash from behind Mac and Desi caused them to turn around suddenly.

Riley was in a heap on the floor, the structure Mac had built was in pieces around her and her laptop… it had seen better days.

Both Mac and Desi rushed towards Riley, who was already trying to stand up.

“Riles talk to me,” Mac called to her, throwing steel pipes that had landed on top of her out of the way.

“That was some fall,” Desi muttered, scanning the surrounding scene as Mac instantly put his arm around her to allow her to take some weight of her feet.

“My fault… tried to… get down too fast,” Riley slurred slightly still in shock by the sudden collapse. Mac was scanning her entire form for injuries as he took in the pale faced Riley.

Taking a deep breath, Riley looked up at Mac and pointed, “not your fault,” she told him sternly, already knowing what was happening behind his cobalt blue eyes.

Mac gulped, “I built it,”

“I broke it,” Riley said, already sounded like herself again.

“Riley, that knee doesn’t look too good,” Desi interrupted, knowing the guilt party would get them nowhere. Riley’s knee was turned at a funny angle, and she still had yet to straighten out her leg. Wincing Riley moved it slightly, before she inhaled sharply in pain.

Mac looked like he was going to be sick.

“Maybe a splint?” Riley whispered softly, pretending she wasn’t in as much pain as she actually was.

Desi knew by Mac he didn’t want to leave her side, and she knew how to make a splint. Picking up some light metal bars and duct tape, she wrapped Riley’s leg carefully. Concentrating, Desi missed the way Riley turned her face in towards Mac’s chest to hide her facial expression of agony and how Mac pressed his lips to the top of her head as they waited for Desi to finish.

Taking a step back to admire her work, Desi motioned for Riley to take a step forward. A small whimper had left her throat before Mac had enough.  

“That’s it,” he muttered, before picking Riley up bridal style, just in time for Boze to complete the blow torch action.  

The extremely loud crack of the steel collapsing against the concrete floor was enough to electrify everyone’s nerves.

“That’s our signal,” Desi told them, already moving with her gun drawn as Bozer waved at them through the open gap.

Escaping the building without any more injuries was lucky, and Desi felt the need to plan on bringing a hat and scarf on every mission in the future. After slipping through side streets and eventually feeling safe to be out in the open, they headed towards the small clinic for Riley’s knee.

Desi and Bozer trailed behind Mac; who refused to put Riley down.

“Good job on the blow torch,” Desi nudged Bozer, as the strolled across cobbled streets.

Disappointed he replied, “Thanks, wish I could’ve brought it with me.”

They walked in silence for a moment before Desi asked, “Has Mac always been this protective of Riley?”

Bozer’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed, as if Desi was thinking way too far out of the box, “Mac’s Mac! He’s always been protective of his friends,” he exclaimed, before humming and continuing, “I mean, maybe he worse since Jack left.”

“Would Mac carry you like that through the streets,” Desi pointed.

“Riley’s hurt,” Bozer shrugged.

Desi hummed, “I offered to give her a piggy back ride,”

“Yeah but… it’s Riley,” Bozer finished, satisfied with his answer.

_It’s Riley,_ the words flowing through Desi’s mind as she watched the two people in front of her. Mac said something Desi couldn’t quite hear and Riley threw her head back in laughter, then resting her head against his shoulder once more.

Desi knew, there’s something going on that the rest of them aren’t seeing. And she’s going to find out what it is.


End file.
